War brought a time of hardship for Burnet's practice, and during this period a disagreement resulted in Tait leaving the practice to work in America. After the war, the London office began to receive commissions once more, including work on completing the Selfridges department store on Oxford Street. The Imperial War Graves Commission also commissioned war memorials from Burnet's firm in Gallipoli, Palestine and Suez (1919). Burnet took a leading role in the design of the memorials and in the work on Adelaide House, London Bridge. His health was deteriorating, however; stress-related eczema, brought on by wartime hardship, professional disagreements and financial scandals in the Glasgow office, made it hard for him to work. Thomas Tait had returned to the practice after a reconciliation, and he began to take a leading role in the practice, working on the Daily Telegraph Building and Lloyds Bank on Cornhill. Burnet himself dealt with the redesign on Lomax Simpson's Unilever House project, but otherwise acted as a consultant and went into semi-retirement. Burnet received the Royal Gold Medal in 1923 and was elected RA in 1925. Retirement and death Until 1935 he lived at Killermont, his Arts and Crafts house at Rowledge, Surrey. He then purchased a much smaller cottage, Woodhall Cottage on Woodhall Road, in Colinton, Edinburgh. Although he kept in touch with developments in the Burnet Tait & Lorne office, he was unhappy in retirement. He died at home on 2 July 1938. His remains were cremated and his ashes were buried in his father-in-law's plot at Warriston Cemetery. The Burnet Tait & Lorne practice continued to thrive after his death, and under the leadership of Thomas Smith Tait, went on to become an influential force in Modern Architecture. Family In 1886 he was married to Jean Watt Marwick (1864–1949), daughter of Sir James David Marwick. Notable works Among his surviving works are: Gardner Memorial Church, Brechin (1896) Clyde Navigation Trust (Clydeport) Building, Robertson Street, Glasgow (1883 and 1905) Barony Church, High Street, Glasgow (1886) John McIntyre Building, University of Glasgow (Glasgow University Union) (1886) Charing Cross Mansions, Charing Cross, Glasgow (1891) Athenaeum, 8 Nelson Mandela Place, Glasgow (1886) New Athenaeum Theatre, 179 Buchanan Street, Glasgow (1891) Royal Faculty of Physicians & Surgeons of Glasgow, St Vincent Street, Glasgow (1892) Glasgow Savings Bank, 177 Ingram Street, Glasgow (1896) Albany Chambers, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow (1896) King Edward VII Gallery, British Museum, London (1905)